“That’s my call, not yours.”
“I don’t accept it!” Her fists ignite beside her and it’s the first time I’ve seen her react like this towards me.Good.I need her to get mad. I need to her hate me. It will be easier to push her away if she does.
“I don’t care.”
“What happened to not controlling me? What happened to letting me make my own decisions? What happened to being better than your father?”
I rise slowly from the other side of the desk, flaring my own wings, but she doesn’t back down. Anyone else would cower and accept my authority. But not her. Instead, it’s me whobacks down because I can’t stand to see the hurt in her eyes, knowing I’m the cause of it.
I hang my head and release a heavy sigh. “Give me until the end of the week. I can’t leave this soon after the bombing.”
“Perfect.” Her sinister grin tells me she’s not surprised by my surrender. It’s like she’s figured out just what buttons to push. Like she knows I’m a prisoner to her demands. The same demands I promised myself I would no longer agree to. Yet here I am, doing just that.
Her ability to manipulate me is infuriating just as much as it is impressive. But she doesn’t get to win this one. Not without a price.
“Under one condition…” She cocks her head to the side and glares at me through her thick lashes. “You don’t take that necklace off.”
“Fine!” she fires back before rushing out the room, dropping her fiery exterior as she goes.
It may not seem like much of a price to pay but it is. Because I know her. I know that there’s a reason she hasn’t mentioned to Damien where she got it from. What that reason is, I’m not sure, but I saw it written on her face. It’s not like her to lie and that’s what she’s doing. Because omission is the equivalent of lying. She herself has reminded me of that fact far too many times for me to buy the innocent act.
It’s a dangerously twisted game the two of us seem to be playing. I know I should stop. I know that I should remove her from my life completely, at least while my father is still alive.
But I can’t.
Her pull is too strong. Her hold is too powerful.
And I am too weak.
Chapter 45
Reign
Ican’t seem to shake the feeling of guilt that has hollowed my stomach. What does it matter if Damien knows that Ryder gave me the necklace? It’s just a stupid necklace. It doesn’t mean anything. And it’s not like I’m hiding it from him. Damien just hasn’t asked about it and it seems unnecessary to just be like “Hey, look at this necklace Ryder got me for my birthday last year when you were off plotting my demise!”
Mother, why must he be so infuriating?
And why did he have to pin me up against the wall and stand so close that I can still smell his scent on me now? The pit in my stomach grows, thinking about the thoughts that had run wild in my mind in that moment. I’m with Damien. I love him and have chosen to try again with him. But my body. My stupid, stupid body can’t help but react around Ryder. Both my mindand body seem to betray me time and time again when he’s around.
“What’s got you in such a mood?” Amaya asks, looking up from her book.
“Not what, who.”
She tosses her head back. “What did he do this time?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. Besides, I’ve been meaning to ask how Zane is doing.”
All the color seems to drain from her face. “He’s still recovering from Slader’s magic, but that’s hardly a focus for him. More than anything, he’s mourning the loss of Nexus. It was so unexpected and the two of them had grown really close while they were at the Sector. I mean, without us there, Nexus was really his only person. The only one he could truly trust. I think for Zane, his death is just as bad as if it were one of us.”
“Shit. You’re so right. I hadn’t even thought about it like that.” I hug her from behind and she rests her head against mine, letting out a deep sigh.
“I don’t know how to help him.”
“What do you mean?” I walk around to sit in one of the cushioned seats in front of her. “Just you being there for him is enough. I don’t think you understand just how incredibly comforting your presence is. It’s almost like another power you have."
"I don’t know about all that.”
“Well, I do, so don’t overthink it. Just continue to be there for him. Even if he acts like he doesn’t need it, trust me, he does.”
